South Maria Lane
by bluemoonblues
Summary: Maybe being caught in a snowstorm wasn't all that bad. [AU]


**A/N:** Hello there:) Thank you so much for stopping by. I hope that you'll enjoy this little story. Huge thanks to the wonderful emmarumbelle who helped betareading this for me.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Shingeki no Kyojin or its characters.

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_Well, wasn't this just fucking perfect?_

Levi cursed everything he could think of as he tried to move against the wind, it was so strong it almost threw him on his back. He had to squint his eyes as white dots of snow rammed into his face.

His sister Isabel was coming from Berlin tomorrow for a visit, there was nothing in the fridge and his cabinet happened to hold only a jar of instance coffee. His car decided to just stop functioning, so he had to walk into town. When he came out of the supermarket, the bus that was always late decided to show up three minutes before schedule, and of course: he missed it.

It wouldn't be that much of a problem if there wasn't a fucking snowstorm outside.

The cars that passed him by didn't stop. He wouldn't either if he were them, much less now that a criminal had broken loose anyways.

While he was busy blaming everyone and everything in life, a white mazda2 pulled out on the side of the street and the driver lowered down a window.

"Hey! Do you need a ride, kid?!" The person shouted through the whooshing wind. Levi would've turned and given them the finger if the voice hadn't been distinctively feminine.

"Oh, my bad. Anyways, do you need a ride?" The driver corrected herself when she caught a glimpse of his face.

Levi didn't take long to evaluate his alternatives and before he walked over to the parked car.

"Where are you going?"

The young woman asked after he slammed the door shut. Her voice was oddly cheery and sweet, just as like the rest of her. She definitely didn't look stupid; still, she took in a stranger while a prisoner was on the run.

"612 South Maria Lane"

She nodded and put the gear on drive. Levi didn't realize how numb his hands were until he was surrounded by the warmth inside of her car.

"What are you doing outside in a storm?" she asked, trying to start a conversation while keeping her eyes focused on the road.

"Buying some stuff, then missed the bus"

She hummed in acknowledgement. They sat quietly for a moment and let the lady on the radio do the talking. He took the opportunity to observe her: how her short ginger hair framed her pretty little face and that she had honey-coloured eyes.

The driver would ask him from time to time where to turn as they got closer to Levi's place.

"… The wind is at 22 seconds per meters. For safety matters the bridge will be closed until further notice."

"Oh no! How will I get home now?"

Her light eyebrows knitted together in frustration as she turned left following his instructions, and parked in front of a story apartment.

"Thank you" Levi said as he unbuckled the safety belt.

"Oh, no problem at all" The young woman gave him a smile, but he could see that she was deep in thought.

"Do you want to come inside?" He asked out of curtesy, something he rarely did, pointing towards the concrete building. But the woman had been nice enough to drive him home even though she didn't have to, so he figured she deserved as much consideration in return.

"Oh, really?"

Her eyes seemed to sparkle at his words. There was no going back now. He sighed.

"You can stay 'til the storm passes"

"Nice place you have here" she said after walking inside. The bright haired girl looked around his apartment with childlike curiosity before suddenly turning to face him and held out her hand.

"I'm Petra Ral, nice to meet you. Thank you for letting me stay-"

Her sentence lingered and he remembered that he had yet to tell her his name.

"Levi. Levi Ackerman"

He took her hand. It was small compared to his and incredibly soft. He gestured towards the sofa, where she willingly plopped herself down.

"What do you want to drink?"

"Anything is fine"

He nodded and then walked off to start preparing coffee. When he handed the cup to her, she thanked him and took it without a second thought.

"Do you always take what strangers give you?"

"Huh?"

Petra blinked at his words, confused, making him sigh.

"You know that the police hasn't been able to catch that escaped prisoner yet, right?"

She let out an 'oh' be observed him with squinted eyes then her pretty little lips curled into a teasing smile.

"I don't think a wanted man would be walking along the road with shopping bags in a snowstorm"

Levi didn't know how to respond to that. Was she being serious?

"For your own safety, I don't think that you should do that so often"

She nodded easily, taking in his warning.

"Do you live here alone?"

It was a single-bedroom apartment with only necessaries and a few framed paintings.

"Yeah, but my sister's coming for a visit. I'll have to go pick her up at the airport tomorrow"

Levi found it weird how he could easily talk about his relatively personal things to this stranger.

"Oh, that's nice! What's her name? Where is she coming from?"

If it was just one of those polite questions, he would have brushed them off but she seemed sincerely interested so he told her.

They talked, well, she was the one who did most of the talking, and without warning the clock marked eleven.

She told him about her current college life, her part time job, her family and that she wanted to visit the Caribbean one day.

But Petra wasn't those types of people to that like to only talk about themselves. She kept asking him questions like she was genuinely trying to get to know him. It looked like she wanted him to know her as well so she shared her stories to him too.

She took out her phone to check if the bridge had reopened so that she could drive back to her place, only to be frustrated again.

"Jeez. They might as well just close it permanently"

She dropped her back against the sofa cushion and let out a heavy sigh.

"Well, I'd better get going. Thank you so much for letting me in Levi. It was nice getting to know you"

Petra stood on her feet and was about to pick up her bag.

"Where are you going? I thought the bridge hadn't opened yet?"

"I'll find a hotel or somewhere else to spend the night"

"You can stay here for the night if you want"

The young woman knew that there was no hidden intention behind his words so she smiled.

"Thank you, Levi"

Levi laid there for what seemed like hours, not being able to sleep. He had offered her his bed which she declined at first, but as much as an asshole Levi was, he wasn't going to let a woman sleep on the couch.

She was probably sound asleep, yet here he was thinking about the Labrador she had at her father's house and how she painted her toenails green.

_What the fuck?_

It was going to be a long night.

"Good morning"

"Morning"

Petra giggled at the man who looked like he hadn't slept for days.

"I said I could sleep on the sofa"

"Yeah, whatever"

Levi muttered and poured them coffee. He was a morning person but today he just felt like shit, all thanks to this little miss who agitated his thoughts for a good part of the night.

"Toast?"

"Sure. Thanks"

Good thing that he went to the supermarket the day before, if not she wouldn't even have milk to put in her coffee, let alone a breakfast.

They sat and ate to the sound of the news on the radio. Neither talked but it still felt oddly comfortable.

After the meal, Petra began to gather her belongings.

"Thank you so much, Levi"

He suddenly stiffed when her small arms wrapped around him in a friendly hug.

"Thank you for driving me"

She then smiled a little too mischievously before pressing a piece of paper into his palm. He looked down and saw eight digits written neatly on it.

"In case you ever need a ride again"

Did he just get hit on by a schoolgirl?

Levi didn't how but he got the number memorized already.


End file.
